Tank Gawd It's Friday - What Historical Event Resonates With You?

Welcome to another Tank Gawd It’s Friday, a weekly community question that we like to answer first and then toss to you to get the conversation going. This week, we’ve decided to give a prize to what we feel is the best answer from a member of the community. In order to be eligible to win we need to make a few things clear.

This contest is only open to players in North America

The code will only work for PC players

Your comment must be on this article, not Facebook or elsewhere

This week, the best comment will win the M4 Improved (U.S.A.) with a garage slot to keep it in. You will also win 500 gold, and seven days of premium time. The crew for the M4 Improved will be at 100 percent, and you’ll get a couple of boosters to round it all out. We’ll reach out to the winner by replying to their comment on this article, and then send them the code via Facebook or Twitter DM.

This Week's Question:

What historical military event resonates with you the most?

Sam Chandler:

It would be incredibly insensitive and un-Australian of me if my answer wasn’t Gallipoli. The Gallipoli Campaign was one of the most horrific moments for Australian soldiers and acts as reminder for all of the nation of the sacrifice our soldiers make to ensure our way of life.

The purpose of the Gallipoli Campaign, specifically the beach landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula, was to capture the area in order to gain access to the Black Sea, essentially knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war. Naivety and proudness were the downfall of the British leaders who ordered the attack that resulted in the Australian and New Zealand forces losing to the ferocity of the defending Ottoman army. The entire campaign resulted in one of the greatest losses of life, even surpassing the Invasion of Normandy.

Every year, on the 25th of April, Australia and New Zealand take a day to remember the fallen ANZACs and all those who fought and continue to fight to uphold our values and way of life.

Bill Lavoy:

I’m going with the Battle of the Plains of Abraham back in 1759. This battle, which took place in Quebec City, was part of the Seven Years’ War, also known as the French and Indian War if you’re in the United States. This battle helped to shape what Canada looks like today, and it is the first real memory I have about being passionate for history.

My interest in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham began because it was a chapter in our history book when I was in the eighth grade. I wrote a paper on it, which I’m sure was terrible since I was likely only about 13 years old at the time.

When a class trip was planned and we headed to Quebec City, I was ecstatic. Other kids wanted to go to the dance cruise on the Saint Lawrence River, but I wanted to stand where General Wolfe and General Montcalm had all those years before. It was the first time that I recall fully understanding that history was real. Actual people stood where I was standing. If you could press rewind, I would be standing in the middle of a battle between France and Great Britain. I would be face to face with General Wolfe and General Montcalm, men so important to my country’s history that they are discussed in classrooms and written of in textbooks.

I think that’s why I value this battle, and experience, more than others. It’s because it made the connection between history in a book, and history in the flesh. It’s almost as if I gained a better understanding of the impact of historical events. After my first ever visit to Quebec City, history wasn’t just books and movies to me any more.

Larryn Bell:

This quesion is a bit of a tricky one for me to answer, simply because I'm only knowledgable of a handful of specific events, at least with any sort of detail. I think for me, D-Day is one military event in history that sticks out in my mind. On June 6th, 1944, Allied forces shored up on the beaches of Normandy, invading a Nazi-controlled France in an unforgettable mission. If D-Day was as gruesome as films like Saving Private Ryan depict it, the sacrifice that Allied soldiers made that day is undeniable. D-Day marked an important turning point in World War II, and is one of the military events in history that resonates with me the most.

Nate Hohl:

Everyone knows about World War I, but what they may not know is that an unprecedented event happened during the Christmas period of 1914. On both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, a series of unofficial ceasefires occurred in several different territories where fighting had broken out. Soldiers from both sides of the war put down their arms for a brief period of time, collected their dead, exchanged prisoners, and, in some places, even openly fraternized with one another; exchanging gifts, playing games of football, and singing Christmas carols. The ceasefire didn’t spread to every single battleground but it was widespread enough to be remembered as a major historical event.

Sadly, the ceasefire was only held during the year of 1914. In subsequent years, military leaders banned the practice of open fraternization with the enemy and the devastating losses some nations had sustained didn’t exactly leave many troops in a celebratory mood. Still, it’s a strong testament to the innate goodness of the human spirit that so many were able to put aside their differences and openly celebrate the spirit of Christmas, if only for a few days.

Now we're going to toss it over to you, our readers. Leave your response to this week's Tank Gawd It's Friday question, and you could win an in-game prize bundle in World of Tanks!